Method of forming a rail-brace from t-metal



(No Model.) r A. A. STROM.

METHOD OF FORMING A RAIL BRAOE FROM T-METAL. No. 380,668.

7 Patented Apr. 3, 1888.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AXEL A. STROM, OF AUSTIN, ILLlNOIS.

METHOD OF FORMING A RAlL-BRACE. FROM T METAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 380,668, dated April 3, 1888. Application filed January 30, 1888. Serial No. 262,410. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AXEL A. STROM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Austin, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Method of Forming a Rail-Brace from T- Metal, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to an improvement in the manufacture of rail-braces made from blanks composed of sections of T-rails, the article being the result of one of several ways of utilizing refuse railsections or T-rails which have been worn out.

Of the various forms of rail-braces produced by manipulating T-rails into different shapes two are known to meas having been used prac tically, one being formed by adapting the rail flange or base to fit the head of the rail to be braced and drawing out the rail-head of the blank to form with the web portion thereof the foot or shank of the brace, the shank being curvedto producean upward convexity,whence the foot portion tends with a downward curvature to fit the tie to which it is to be secured by spikes passed through spike-holes provided toward the end of the foot portion. The other form referred to is produced by bending one side or wing of the flange or base of the blank to form as an extension of the web the foot portion of the brace and adapt it to fit upon the tie to which it is to be secured in the manner stated of the first of the two braces herein described, and the opposite wing of the flange is bent toward the head of the T-blank to brace it, the latter being previously bent over toward the bracing portion and adapted to fit against the web and between the head and flange of the rail to be braced. The use of each of these braces is attended with objections incident to its construction. That first described has attenuated bearing-surfaces at the opposite extremities of its head portion respectively in contact with the under side of thehead and upper side of the flange of the rail it braces, and affords insufficient resistance to the strain against the rail, whereby the shank is bent from its normal shape, thus separating the head of the brace from the rail and destroying the bracing function ofthe brace, and frequently also fracturing the brace through the curved shank portion.

The second of the two braces described is ren dered too weak to bear the strain exerted upon the rail it braces by the bending of the flange in the opposite directions described to produce the foot portion and prop or reenforcing agent of the head portion,as it breaks readily through the shank more or less toward the foot portion,and quite commonly at the line of bending the flange.

My object is to provide a form of rail-brace constructed from a T-rail blank which shall be devoid of the defects incident to the constructions set forth; and to this end my invention consists in the method of forming a railbrace from a T-metal blank which consists in bending the web portion to form the shank of the brace and bending the wings of the base or flange toward each other to producea continuation of the web or shank and form the foot portion.

The construction produced by my improved method is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the brace; Fig. 2, a side view of the same in operative position against a section ofrail;and Fig. 3, a similar view broken and showing a modification as to the manner of forming the head ofthe brace, the dotted lines showing the original and the full lines the upset head.

A is the rail-brace, comprising a head portion, 0', corresponding with the head of the section of T-metal blank from which it is formed, ashank,q, slightly curved,as shown,and formed of the web portion of the blank, and a foot portiomp, formed of the flange of the blank by bending the wings thereof toward and into contact with each other and welding them together, whereby theyproduce a continuation of the shank and adapted to fit upon the tie to which the foot portion is spiked or bolted, the spikes or bolts being commonly driven through holes provided to admit them in the foot portion.

If the space between the head and flange of 9 head of the full dimensions, or substantially so, of the head of the blank, thereby presenting such wide bearing-surfaces against the head and flange of the rail it braces that it takes up a very material portion of the strain exerted against the rail, and consequently reducing that which would Otherwise be transmitted to theshank and foot portions,the former of which is so slightly curved or bent as to resist great strain tending to bend it. The foot portion 19, being composed of the double thickness of the web of the T-blank, adds especially material strength to the brace, since the manner of bending itthat is, to form a continuation of the web forming the shank portion q-does not weaken it at the bendingline, while the duplicate form of the foot portion adds materially to the strength.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The method of forming a rail-brace from a T-metal blank which consists in bending the web portion to form the shank of the brace and bending the wings of the base or flange toward each other to produce a continuation of the web or shank and form the foot portion, substantially as described.

2. The method of forming a rail-brace from a T-metal blank which consists in upsetting the head of the blank to cause it to fit between the head and flange of the rail to be braced, bending the web portion to form the shank of the brace and bending the wings of the base or flange toward each other to produce a continuation of the web or shank and form the foot 35 portion, substantially as described.

AXEL A. STROM. In presence of- J. W. DYRENFORTH, CHAS. E. GAYLORD. 

